Magnolia had made it her mission; if she was to live on Luxendarc, with Yew, then she needed to fully immerse herself in the culture of Luxendarc. This meant consulting with Edea, consulting with Alfred, consulting with Tiz about everything that she might need to know about becoming a true Luxendarc citizen.
It was Tiz who first mentioned the holidays, when he brought up that there wasn't one Luxendarc culture, there were several, an example being the different holidays that each region celebrated. She ought to go back to Alfred to ask about the ones Yew favored.
"What's a holiday?" she had asked, and he gave her a look that spoke of concern not just for her upbringing, but also for whatever she heard from others that meant he was the one telling her this.
Crystmas was first, and she helped Alfred cook a good, hearty meal and gave Yew a present that consisted of a new writing set, as his old one was wearing out. Seeing the gratitude on his face was almost as nice as the flowers and the new dress that he gifted her.
Then. Then there was Valentine's Day.
She sat with Edea for a full day as the blonde ranted and raved about the holiday. There, she learned many things. What a woman should expect, and what a woman should not expect, because men were terrible creatures and were only good at breaking hearts and being absent for years on end without so much as a letter or a 'how-do-you-do?'!
Magnolia empathized with her and thanked Edea for her advice by making homemade chocolate with her. Some of it even survived, and she packed it up to give to Yew. But the chocolate was only one part of her plan
Their morning on the dawn of V-Day as the same as ever. Yew woke up early, his hair a mess, and they had a good breakfast together. She went to the school she studied Luxendarc history at, and he worked until the evening, at which point he came home and produced chocolates for her
"Oh," she said, pleased as she took the large container in hand. She'd been around Edea enough to know that these were true luxury chocolates, and the script implied they had been imported all the way from Florem. "I have a gift for you, too."
"You didn't have to get me anything," he replied, smiling, but accepted the box of homemade sweets from her all the same.
"Oh, yes I did," she told him, popping a chocolate in her mouth. It burst with flavor, and she licked her lips slowly, meeting his eyes. "There's more where that comes from."
Yew was in bed that evening, reading a novel, when she opened the door to the ensuite and stepped out. He paused in eating the chocolate she'd given him, looked up, and choked.
"M-m-magnolia!" he stuttered, setting his novel aside. His face was turning red. "Um - what's the occasion?"
"It's Valentine's Day," she reminded him patiently, sashaying to him on high heels. The motion of her hips set the white fur hem aflutter around her, catching his eyes before he forced them back to her face.
"Uh, right," he replied, sitting up straighter and gathering the blankets over his lap with his hands. "It sure is."
"What do you think?" she asked, stopping at the edge of his side of the bed. She ran her hands down her side, the lace of her garment smooth in its transparency. "I thought this was very pretty, don't you agree?"
"Yes," he said. "You look… lovely. Very lovely."
"We couldn't normally wear such things on the moon," she said, a hint of wistfulness in her voice. "It was far too cold and too dangerous to wear something you couldn't fight in."
"I'm sorry," he replied, and seemed to want to say something more, except she continued. It wasn't sympathy she was looking for tonight.
"So, I've decided that I simply must make up all that lost time! I've chosen a few different … garments that I need your help with! I've never had anything so fine, and I'll need your opinion to pick out my favorite."
"My… my help?" he asked, eyes wide. "You want my help?"
"Of course, Yew! Now, let me go get into the other ones. You stay there."
The next set of lingerie was mostly leather, with rings that connected the different straps. The one after that, all black fur and fishnet. The fourth, pink and fluffy and barely there, and she had just turned to get into the fifth when Yew stopped her with a hand and dragged her into the bed, citing that he needed a closer look before making any decision.
As it turned out, she would end up modeling the next garment the following evening. They certainly didn't have time that Valentine's day.